


you belong with me (not on a museum wall)

by SQ (proteinscollide)



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Art Theft, Heist, M/M, Multi, the Stealer mv
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28335768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/proteinscollide/pseuds/SQ
Summary: In hindsight, Younghoon’s random confession should’ve been a giveaway.
Relationships: Choi Chanhee | New/Ji Changmin | Q/Kim Younghoon, Choi Chanhee | New/Kim Younghoon
Comments: 9
Kudos: 31
Collections: Yuletide Madness 2020





	you belong with me (not on a museum wall)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [popliar (littlerhymes)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlerhymes/gifts).



> Someone posted on Twitter about wanting 'a million "art thieves who met on Tinder" fics' and my brain latched onto this and couldn't let go. Thanks? 
> 
> Also thank you to @greenet for looking this over and gifting me with these perfect wise words -  
> "Art theft: very inspiring  
> Heart theft: doubly inspiring??"

I. 

In hindsight, Younghoon’s random confession should’ve been a giveaway. 

“Maybe this will sound weird, but it was actually that picture behind you that made me swipe right,” Younghoon says, sounding a little breathless.

To be fair, Younghoon says it while on his knees in front of Chanhee in his bedroom, barely five minutes after he’d arrived, hands pawing desperately at the front of Chanhee’s pants. Between a) worrying about damage to his suit - expensive, to be handled with care, just like him; and b) the imminent prospect of Younghoon’s mouth on his cock, well, the comment had barely registered. But now - 

“The painting on the wall in my bedroom caught your eye,” Chanhee says slowly, looking last night’s Tinder hook-up dead in the eye. “And you’d thought you’d fuck me to get a better look at a print?”

Across the cage they’re now both stuck in Younghoon shrugs, a wry smile on his face. “Come on, we both know that’s not a print. I wanted to know what other treasures you had lying around. The sex was a delightful bonus.”

II.

Maybe Chanhee should’ve been more suspicious of how easy it all seemed, right up to the moment he found himself trapped in the cage. 

He’d used a tried and true method to get into the party. All dressed up to the nines, blending in with the well-heeled crowd, with unshed tears brimming in his eyes when they hadn’t found his (made up) name on the list. Then a well-timed call out to one of the society ladies walking through the door and he was in, as she blinked myopically at his pretty face and tricked herself into thinking she knew the handsome young man curling his arm through hers with practised familiarity. 

And with all the attention, all the chatter in the room devoted to the centrepiece of their host’s ostentation show of wealth - the giant sculpture that took pride of place in the heavily guarded secure vault - it had been child’s play to slip into the room behind the curtain with all the other baubles on display and take his pick. And it was nothing more than a keepsake, really; a beaten gold heart on a solid chain that would net him a pretty sum when he tired of it. 

“That looks good on you.” 

Chanhee had jumped at the quiet voice by his side, shocked to find he wasn’t alone. The man was tall; Chanhee had to crane his neck as he cased his intruder - long legs; the wide lapels of his black jacket, belted; the pop of colour in his red and black striped shirt - and then, with a start, he realised he recognised the face.

“Younghoon-ssi?” he said, while his brain raced to think of some plausible excuse for being found admiring the piece of jewellery around his neck that wasn’t his to wear, that should’ve been safely locked up in its glass case behind him. 

“You remembered my name,” the other man said, a pleased tone in his voice. “I was going to say this was a nice surprise but, well, I expected to find you here.”

Alarm bells were ringing in Chanhee’s head now, but he pasted on the friendliest, most harmless smile he could muster and said flirtily, “Oh, really? Well I didn’t expect _you_.” 

He reached out with one hand to pat Younghoon on the arm, the other smoothly sliding the necklace under the collar of his top, hiding it from sight. 

“Nice move,” Younghoon said, reaching out with his own hand to cover Chanhee’s, to hold him there. “I wasn’t kidding though - the necklace suits you. Like it belongs to you.” 

His fingers stroke across the back of Chanhee’s hand, his dark gaze intense, and Chanhee has a sudden flash of sense memory, Younghoon’s fingers skimming over another part of him last night, and he can’t stop the warmth the memory brings, the flush that rises up past the collar and up onto his cheeks. 

“Cute,” Younghoon says, almost in a whisper, and he’s leaning down, leaning closer as if to relive some of those memories and Chanhee almost forgets where he is, what he’s here for, to let him, and then - 

“Don’t let me interrupt you, gentlemen,” a mocking voice, a sudden brightness; the curtain is pulled back, and a cage - a goddamn gold-barred cage, what the fuck - slides down from the roof with a clang, as he and Younghoon are revealed to the party at large. To one side stands their host, with a cold gleam in his eyes; but in the shocked silence as his party guests stare open-mouthed at the scene before them, he turns to them and says, slurring his words and giggling, “Cue the entertainment for tonight! You know I’ve got the good shit if thieves show up for it!”

Seeing the very picture of a drunk dilettante with an eccentric sense of humour, the buzz returns to the room, the guests laugh thinking the trap all part of the show. And Chanhee is frozen, revealed, _angry_ \- 

“Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here,” Younghoon said softly. His eyes scanned the room before them restlessly. As guests grew bored of them, no longer shocking or a novelty, their gazes slid away, until there was just one person left watching them from a corner. From his clothes and the tray he was holding Chanhee would’ve dismissed him as a cater-waiter but then the man - sharp faced, sharp eyed - caught his eye, gave a small smile, nodded almost imperceptibly at Younghoon and slid out the door. 

Chanhee narrowed his eyes and smacked Younghoon on the chest with his free hand, the one not captured by Younghoon’s own. He hissed, “Who _are_ you?”

III.

A little while ago, the curtain had been drawn, hiding them from view once more, the ‘entertainment’ declared over. But the cage hasn’t been raised, and Younghoon’s promised cavalry hasn’t materialised, and Chanhee is losing hope and patience. And starting to realise some uncomfortable truths. 

“The painting on the wall in my bedroom caught your eye. And you’d thought you’d fuck me to get a better look at a print?”

“Come on, we both know that’s not a print. I wanted to know what other treasures you had lying around. The sex was a delightful bonus.”

“Oh the sex was a bonus,” Chanhee repeats in a flat voice. “Gee, thanks.” 

“A delightful one,” Younghoon reminds him, earnest. “I was going to message you and see if you wanted to again, but like I said - I thought I’d see you here, and it seemed more direct. “

Chanhee huffs at being seen, at somehow being predictable to this near-stranger. He purses his lips, turning away from Younghoon, and stares out at the darkness now beyond the bars. 

“If I’d known someone of your calibre - and as beautiful as you - was right there in my neighbourhood, I would’ve sought you out earlier, I promise.” Maybe Younghoon is laying it on a bit thick, but it’s working and also yeah, Chanhee had a good time last night. 

“So how much have you worked out?” Chanhee says finally with a sigh, turning back to watch Younghoon in the low light of the room.

“Based on the art in your apartment? Hmmm.” Younghoon taps a finger on his lips. “The one that caught my eye - Madrid 2015?”

“Maybe.”

“The van Dyck...that’s recent.”

Chanhee smirks as his response.

“Bergen 2018, surely. Some of the decorative pieces…”

“A gift from a friend.”

“A generous friend,” Younghoon says, raising an eyebrow. 

“Are you saying I’m not worth a 14.8 million dollar present? After last night?”

“Point,” Younghoon says with a laugh.

“What about you?” Chanhee asks. “You know your stuff. Research, an armchair enthusiast, or…?”

“Show me yours and I’ll show you mine?” It’s Younghoon’s turn to smirk. He names a place and a date, and Chanhee can’t help but gasp. 

“You - you wish that was your doing. No way.” 

“When we get out here, come over to my place and I’ll prove it to you,” Younghoon says. 

Chanhee takes a deep breath, and answers in as light a voice as possible, “Cocky, aren’t we?” But he can’t quite hide the wobble in his voice, can’t stop himself from taking the two steps that put him right up against Younghoon again, drawn by the idea of having found his match. 

“Now where were we...” Younghoon says, drawing Chanhee in that last little distance with an arm around his waist, staring at Chanhee’s lips with that intense look once again. 

“Yoohoo, one rescue coming right up as ordered - ”

Chanhee turns sharply in the circle of Younghoon’s arms and blinks at the darkness beyond the dratted bars, looking for the source of the voice. His - their? - saviour melts out of the shadows, sleekly dressed in all black, with a dimpled grin. 

“Hyung, are you - oh!” The man stops in front of the bars, expression turning from cheerful to surprised as he spots Chanhee also. 

“Didn’t Kevin tell you it was for two - “ Younghoon starts to explain, just as Changmin says to Chanhee, with a glint in his eye “Well fancy seeing you here. With Younghoon-hyung.” 

“Really?” Younghoon says a beat later, catching on.

“You’re not the only one who looks for the good art in the background of people’s profile pics,” Chanhee tells him gleefully. 

Changmin has already found the mechanism for the cage on one of the side walls, his lithe body using the bars as leverage as he reaches up to work at releasing them. 

Chanhee recognises the mildly glazed look on Younghoon’s face as he watches him. “I do remember him being good with his hands,” he murmurs, in a low voice just for Younghoon’s ears. 

“Hmmm...and bendy,” Younghoon adds dreamily. 

“If you two are done objectifying me, you could come over here and lend a hand,” Changmin says drily, not turning away from the task at hand. But he stops a moment later, in the middle of directing Younghoon to hold back a part to give him better visibility, and puts his hand to the bluetooth receiver over his ear. 

“Q, a minute to the alarm activation. Cargo’s on its way. Hyunjae’s in place for the diversion. Rendezvous back at base. Your ETA?”

“60 seconds, got it,” Changmin replies, clipped. “My ETA - just give me a sec - “ 

His fingers dance over the mechanism, teeth biting down on his lips as he focusses and then - _click_. A beat later, as he hops off just in time, the cage shudders then slowly begins its retraction into the roof. 

“And we’re on the move. Taking the back route to avoid running into security headed Hyunjae’s way. Don’t expect us back at base tonight. Q out.” 

The cage now completely out of the way, Changmin bows low as he welcomes Chanhee and Younghoon to freedom, then leads the way cautiously through a maze of empty rooms and service corridors, all stale air and dusty dark. 

“Q? Cargo? Base?” Chanhee whispers as they stay their movement for a long minute, pressed together in a huddle behind a door as they wait for footsteps - just audible from where they are - to recede. 

“Well, our crew didn’t want to waste an opportunity if we were breaking in anyway,” Changmin says quietly, glancing up at Younghoon. 

Younghoon nods briefly, and says, “We’ll introduce you to them tomorrow, if you want.”

Chanhee’s never worked as part of a crew before, but if tonight has been any indication, there’s definitely some benefits to safety in numbers. And if it meant staying close to Younghoon and Changmin...well...

Changmin peeks around the frame and gives them the signal for all clear. They start moving again, and soon they’re out in fresh air, then beyond the estate wall, and then, finally, seemingly free.

“Hang on,” Chanhee says, as he gets into the back of the sleek, black car conveniently waiting for them on a side road while Younghoon slips into the passenger seat. “Tomorrow? Why not tonight?”

Changmin slides into the driver’s seat and, and as the engine purrs to life he says, “Well, I had plans for tonight. Since I was hoping my rescuee might reward me...in bed.” 

Chanhee looks at Younghoon, then at Changmin, then at where Younghoon’s hand is now settled high on Changmin’s thigh. “Sorry for getting in the way of your plans,” he says quietly, a small heavy disappointment settling in his stomach. 

“Actually, is it too greedy to say I’m hoping both my rescuees might be sufficiently grateful?” Changmin counters.

“Aish, isn’t greed how we all got here in the first place?” Younghoon says. “And I think it’s paid off so far.” 

He laughs, but somehow even in the space of the short time they’ve known each other, Chanhee can already tell it’s a nervous one. He’s also turned sideways in his front seat, so he can watch Chanhee with that look in his eyes again; and he can feel Changmin glancing back at him too in the rearview mirror, as if both of them are wishing for him to - wishing for him. 

“Well I am nothing if not a very grateful person,” Chanhee says, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, suddenly warm with an idea of a possible future with these two, with a happiness like molten gold inside him.


End file.
